Tokyo: Oreimo

After graduating from high school, I stayed at home unemployed. My daily routine consisted of playing games, sleeping, and eating. I barely survived on government relief funds. Fortunately, my parents helped me out; otherwise, I might have starved to death at home one day.

"But we don't have much of a budget left, and razor blades are quite expensive, aren't they?"

"And I don't even know where the producer is. Damn it, do I have to wait a full two months to play the full version?"

Hiroki Suzuki has been feeling quite bored lately, apparently because he's been playing too much and for too long, which has made him somewhat desensitized to most of the same type of visual novels.

Due to budget constraints, only a limited number of visual novels and doujinshi artbooks were purchased for the Winter CM exhibition.

I could have patiently continued playing, just to pass the time.

But as luck would have it, the Kadokawa Magzine magazine he bought today came with a free game disc, and there was no reason for him to miss out on something so free.

But once he started playing, he couldn't stop.

"It's just a demo version, the main story hasn't even started yet... That white-haired loli is quite cute, is she also a romanceable character?"

Hiroki Suzuki couldn't help but speculate about how the story would unfold.

He was interested in several of the female characters who appeared in the prologue, but if he had to pick his favorite and put her first in the romance sequence, it would definitely be the white-haired loli with a terrifying figure behind her.

There was no other reason, it was just because of that word... "brother".

"That's too cruel..."

Hiroki Suzuki stared at the ceiling as if utterly exhausted.

"I really want to play the sequel..."

He stood there in a daze for quite a long time, almost falling asleep, but a thought suddenly popped into his head, making him jump out of bed.

"I can't be the only one suffering like this. I'll go check out the forums; maybe I'll find others who are in the same boat?"

Hiroki Suzuki skillfully opened his browser, entered a website address, and pressed enter.

The internet at this time was still in the stage without search engines. Without understanding domain names, it was impossible to find the website you wanted to visit. However, this was no problem for Suzuki, who had been staying at home for many years.

He logged into a secret forum exclusively for otaku, where they regularly recommended games and erotic comics to each other.

The forum only supports text and the most basic emoticons.

The website was filled with posts, and Hiroki Suzuki searched through them, but there seemed to be no information about the game he was playing, Fate/stay night.

"Really? Such an excellent work, and nobody else knows about it?"

Hiroki Suzuki wore an incredulous expression. After a moment's thought, his gaze fell on the magazine lying to the side.

He continued searching through the posts and finally found some clues.

There's a post with a Kadokawa light novel review, and someone in the comments mentioned the included game disc.

"The game demo disc included with this issue is truly a must-see masterpiece."

"A CD? What game? Why don't I have the one I bought?"

"Ha, they're probably just fooling idiots. It's an obvious scam."

"Huh, does that mean there are no free gifts at all?"

"It's quite common, isn't it? They make up some rumors and then trick people into making transactions offline, offering up trash that can be found anywhere."

Seeing the ever-increasing number of replies below the post, Hiroki Suzuki joined the fray without hesitation.

"There is a free gift: a demo disc of an 18+ game called Fate/stay night, which will be officially released at the Summer Comiket! It's an amazing game; I'd sell everything I own to play it."

"Nonsense! I just bought the latest issue today. There's no CD you're talking about. This kind of scam is way too low-level."

A barrage of comments denying the existence of any free gifts quickly flooded Suzuki's post.

He didn't rush to reply, but a look of confusion appeared on his face.

He was absolutely certain that there were indeed free gifts, after all, he had spent several hours experiencing it.

But why do some netizens say no?

He picked up the magazine next to him, turned to the last page, and at the very top where the CD had been stuck, he wrote a line: "Little guy."

—Limited edition.

"Isn't the development team being a bit too stingy? The demo disc used for promotion is a limited edition?"

No wonder some people didn't receive the free gift.

Hiroki Suzuki posted his findings on the forum, and they quickly gained recognition from some netizens who shared his views.

However, some unpleasant comments still exist.

"These cheap CDs are limited editions, probably because the production team is too poor. It's just something from a small workshop. A group that's stingy with its promotions, that's probably the kind of quality they produce."

Upon seeing this reply, Hiroki Suzuki was quite angry and so agitated that he trembled slightly.

These guys have never even played before, yet they're attacking us like this.

What a bunch of self-righteous people!

Do they know about the Holy Grail War? Do they know what a magician is?

Suzuki felt a responsibility to defend the work he loved!

He kept typing on the keyboard, retaliating against the unwarranted attacks.

"Fight! For what I love!"

Chapter 59 New Work

Ryosuke was unaware of what was happening on a very small scale within the internet.

At the end of the semester, after completing the academic ability test, it was July.

He began his long summer vacation.

However, he still stays at home and rarely goes out to play. Kino's Journey is coming to an end, and the fifth volume is being finished. It is expected to be completed and submitted at the beginning of the month.

Ling Nai had already received the results of her entrance exams and, unsurprisingly, had passed the entrance exams for Chiba First High School, where she would officially enroll in September.

Upon hearing the news, Takashiro Isao got drunk and was not taken home by his colleagues until midnight. He kept muttering to himself, "It's so good that Ryosuke is here," and "Ryouno's studies are finally saved."

It took Ryosuke and Mieko considerable effort to drag the old man to the bed.

Having worked at the police station for so many years, I had long since given up drinking, but I never expected to break my vow because of this.

From that day on, Ryosuke and Ryosuke's allowances doubled, which Takashiro Isao called a reward.

As for Ling Nai herself, apart from going to the studio at fixed times to rush to finish her manuscript, she spent most of her time in her bedroom, focusing on the FSN strategy.

She's been having a fight with him lately because after completing the Fate and UBW routes, she started playing the Heaven's Feel route, which corresponds to Matou Sakura's route.

Compared to the other two routes, this route truly reveals the darkness hidden beneath the Holy Grail War.

After witnessing Matou Sakura fall into the abyss, Takashiro Ryōno was devastated.

Ryosuke, who had personally created such a script, naturally didn't have a pleasant expression towards her.

"You really are a nuisance."

Ling Nai wished she could strangle this bastard who used words to torment Matou Sakura.

Ryosuke wasn't angry at all; in fact, he seemed rather pleased.

In my memory, a considerable number of general players did not explore this route, usually only scratching the surface, until the anime adaptation of Fate/Zero, which served as a prequel, was released, and they began to pay attention to it.

In fact, the heroines in each of the dedicated routes generally have a happy ending.

When Ling Nai finally clears the game, she might stop being angry.

This period of time is perfect for him to focus on finishing his old work and also to start preparing for his new one.

......

In late July, Ryosuke met with Rumi Hayakawa and submitted the manuscript for the final chapter of "Kino's Journey".

"At the current update frequency, the journal will officially end in September. After it expires, a standalone book will be released as usual."

After Hayakawa Rumi finished reading the manuscript, Nagisa Ryosuke smiled.

Before I knew it, I had been working with this naturally naive beauty for half a year. She had gone from being a newcomer to a person who seemed to be able to stand on her own.

"By the way, would Mr. Shi Yuze be against book signings? The magazine has received quite a few letters from readers, so maybe a book signing would be quite effective."

A book signing event? Ryosuke thought about it and declined.

I'd rather not show my face. Thinking about the works I'm going to release later, if someone finds out about it later, I might get razor blades in my hands.

"It's a pity. I think Teacher Shi Yuze has a very good image. He might have gained a considerable number of female fans."

Hayakawa Rumi covered her mouth and chuckled softly, making Ryosuke feel a little embarrassed.

Forget it, he has no intention of playing the fan economy game.

"By the way, Editor Hayakawa, I brought my new work with me. Take a look when you have some free time."

Ryosuke Takagi took out a specially prepared manuscript from his backpack and pushed it in front of the other person.

"Huh? So fast?"

Hayakawa Rumi originally thought that Takashiro Ryosuke would have to wait at least two months before starting a new work, given how many things he was currently busy with, but she didn't expect him to bring her such a surprise today.

"Well, since it's related to a game that's about to be released, I think we might be able to boost each other's sales."

Ryosuke shrugged.

Hayakawa Rumi pulled out a piece of paper from the document bag right in front of her.

The cover has a string of English letters written on it: "Fate/Zero".

Hayakawa Rumi didn't pay much attention to the game that Ryosuke was currently working on. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but rather that she didn't have any extra free time. She was already feeling overwhelmed just from being busy with work.

But she still knew the name of that game; it also started with the prefix Fate.

"I will read it when I get back. With Shi Yuze's talent, he definitely has the ability to get it serialized."

Hayakawa Rumi flipped through a few pages and could roughly tell that this time it was different from the previous "Kino's Journey". It was no longer a fable in the form of a short episodic drama, but rather a longer story.

Reading it in person might take up too much of the other person's time.

"Well, this time I submitted quite a lot of drafts, enough for about a whole volume. I was wondering if it would be possible to publish it under another pen name?"